"That's really great news," Brando said, holding a torch towards the path behind them. "Do you think we should go help the princess? I mean, there's no way she knows what she's doing out there."

Fin ended the Stone Vizard ability. He was sure the dragons meant to label it "Stone Wizard." His body lost its stony appearance as his skin took on the appearance of a dirty cave crawler. He shrugged. "If she runs into any trouble, she'll probably scream. Do you want to be the first to witness what stone spire wings look like?"

Brando agreed excitedly, and Fin activated his long-awaited wing ability. He had no idea what it would do or if it would even work. He held out his arms, activated Stone Spire Wings, and felt the raw energy through his back, searching to find purchase. As if unable to decide where Fin's wings were, the energy dwindled out and died.

"It's not working," Fin said, disappointed. "I think I was right to assume that I need preexisting wings."

"When we get out of here, we'll figure it out," Brando said, picking up one of the torches and walking away. "I'll go see what kind of goods these Bandits left for us."

Fin moved away from the carnage and sat down on the ground. He ate several pieces of fruit and finished his loaf of bread. Finally, he pulled out one of the rocks associated with the elemental. He turned it around in his hand. There was nothing spectacular about it. He tried talking to see if his Earth Commune ability would work.

"Hello," Fin greeted. There was no response. He tried again. Failing to commune with the rock, he set it down and took out another. The second rock didn't respond, either. He set it next to the first. They were just normal rocks.

He looked at his inventory and found the problem. Most of the rocks were labeled "Unbonded Rock." There was only one with the label "Earth Elemental Core." To be safe, he put the two unmoving rocks away and pulled out the core. It glowed in his hand with a golden hue. He instinctively knew he could see the glow because of his Discern Earth ability.

"Hello," Fin tried greeting again. The stone hummed deeply, giving the impression that it was very old.

"How many friends do you have down here?" Fin asked the rock. The stone didn't reply. Finally, it gave off a short vibrating grunt. It was clear that it did not want to have a conversation. Fin persisted.

"I don't think there's anyone else out there," Dezi said, approaching with a bow and arrow in each hand. She stopped and watched Fin. "Are you talking to a rock?"

"Trying to," Fin said, frowning. "It doesn't seem to want to talk."

Brando dropped a pile of weapons, money, and random supplies next to Fin's feet. "Don't judge him based on this one occurrence. Usually, he has a way with the rocks. You should have seen him seduce the last one. He gave it a kiss that would make your grandmother blush."

"He's exaggerating," Fin explained. "I gave it one tiny kiss. It was four seconds tops. Nothing crazy."

Dezi ignored the conversation and pointed. "If that's part of the monster you were fighting earlier, it's dead now."

"Technically, it is the monster we were fighting," Fin corrected, holding it towards her. "It won't listen to me. Do you want to give it a go?"

Dezi reached over and took the rock in her hands. "I think this goes without saying, but this is a bad time for jokes."

"It's not a joke," Fin said, exasperated. "Just tell the rock that you're a princess and start demanding answers. You know, like you normally do. Oh, specifically ask if there are any dragons with a bone quest."

Dezi lifted the rock and shook it. "Are there any dragons back there?"

After a breathless moment, Fiin shook his head and began stowing the pile of loot off the ground. There were two sets of flint, a whetstone, two water flasks, and thirty copper coins.

"I don't blame the thing," Brando smiled and gestured with his dagger. "If I was the rock, I wouldn't want to talk to her either."

"I'll give you a gold coin right now if you tell Brando to shut his filthy, rotten mouth," Dezi growled at the rock. The stone rumbled in Dezi's hands. She yelped and dropped it to the ground. It started rolling, picking up speed as it tumbled deeper into the cavern. "It moved!"

"If that thing just insulted me, I'm going to drop it in an outhouse," Brando claimed, rising to his feet.

"Quick, it's getting away!" Fin picked up his torch and ran after it. The others followed suit.

The path split off into different abandoned tunnels, most of which had visible dead ends. Fin saw the golden glow of the elemental rolling just ahead, so he pressed forward.

The curve of the ceiling abruptly dropped, causing Fin to crouch low. When he could fully stand, the passage had grown into a bulbous room. He charged and threw himself on top of the escaping elemental, pulling it towards him and stowing it. He realized too late that he had darted past a large, ugly creature lurking next to the entrance.

The creature stood and roared a challenge for combat, lifting gangly arms. Its cry was cut short as Brando's massive sword drove through its back and peirced through its chest. Dezi ran up beside the creature and rammed her sword through its ribcage.

Brando pulled his sword out, kicking the monster's back for leverage.

Dezi tried to pull her sword free, jerking the falling creature towards her. She scrambled to get out of the way, tripped, and landed in the direct path of its falling corpse. It landed on top of her with a dry, slapping sound.

"Help!" Dezi called out from under the lifeless monster. "It smells! It's awful! Get me out!"

Fin and Brando lifted the creature allowing Dezi to roll out from underneath. She stood and tugged her sword free.

"Nice work, you two," Fin said, handing his dagger to Dezi. "Take this. Next time, just let go of the sword and use it if you have to. I think you need it more than I do, anyway."

Dezi reached out and accepted the weapon. After looking over it, she attached it to her sword belt with a rare word of gratitude. "Thanks."

"Here." Brando shoved his dagger into her hands. "They're a matching set." Before the princess could respond, he added, "I just don't want anyone thinking we have friendship daggers."

Fin moved forward and inspected the tunnel ahead. "Uh, guys. I don't know about this."

Brando moved to where Fin was standing. He could see just through the room's exit, the walls opened up again, but he couldn't see anything beyond the wall of dim torchlight. "What is it?"

"I think it's a large room," Fin whispered, looking at multiple golden, glowing orbs punctuating the darkness like dots on a canvas. "There has to be at least twelve elementals in there." "How can you tell?" Dezi asked, not able to see anything beyond the pitiful ring of light. "All I can see is darkness."

"This is why it's so important to build trust. If you had said something like that, I would walk in knowing you're a liar and probably get myself killed." Brando said, matching Fin's volume. "Okay, what's the plan?"

"Now that we know there's only a single, controlling rock on each elemental, I think I can probably snatch it out in one go," Fin said, giving an example by grabbing at the air in front of him. "I think I'll need a distraction to get close."

"We can put the princess back in the cage," Brando suggested. "That might distract them."

"I'll put you in the cage," Dezi threatened.

"We could put the elemental core in the cage," Fin said off-handedly. "We can see if it draws any of the elementals towards us. I might need your help, though."

The group discussed the plan. Fin would stand just inside the passageway so that when they lured an elemental in, it would hopefully walk by without noticing. They would distract the creature, and he would stow its core. Everyone agreed.

When they were in position, Fin unstowed the cage in the center of the cavernous room. He then placed the elemental core inside and waited. The stone emitted a deep, rumbling sound that vibrated the bent metal bars. Another rumbling echo answered the call from just inside the passageway.

Fin was starting to second guess his plan. What if the caged elemental attracted all of the elementals at once? He began moving towards the cage to stow the creature so they could reassess their plan. He took one step forward when a giant foot formed from dirt and rocks stepped next to him.

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He backed up and hugged the wall, hoping the large monster would keep its eyes forward.

As planned, Dezi pulled the cage back, and Brando prepared to stab at it with his long sword. A second foot emerged, and Fin spotted his target. One of the rocks that made up the elemental's left thigh had a bright golden glow.

Brando ran forward to distract the creature. It stood a head taller than him. It was nearly twice the size of the first one they had encountered. He waved his sword in haphazard arches, drawing the creature's attention.

Fin took the opportunity to act. He ran up behind the creature, activated Strengthen Grip, and pulled as hard as he could on the glowing rock. It wouldn't budge. Fortunately, the thing hadn't noticed him.

Brando hadn't been able to swing at the creature as planned. Fortunately, his running around and dodging constant attacks was working well enough, giving Fin time to work.

Fin gripped a rock in the elemental's leg just above the glowing one, and with an ability-powered squeeze, he crushed it into dust and small shards.

The creature lost its balance and tried to shift its weight. When it found its footing, it wheeled towards Fin.

Brando jumped forward and thrust toward the elemental. The tip of his sword clashed against its right shoulder, causing it to pivot away from attacking Fin.

Fin quickly grabbed the elemental core, pulled as hard as he could, and activated his stow ability. The rock moved slightly under his effort and then disappeared entirely. The creature fell to the ground and scattered into a hundred deadly projectiles.

Before anyone could celebrate, another elemental entered the domed space just as quickly as the first one fell. Its glowing core sat on top of its torso like a neckless, off-centered head. Fin crept around the room as Brando moved in the opposite direction shouting taunts. The creature seemingly ignored Brando, opting to follow Fin with its assumed gaze. It reached back to swing at Fin when a rock flew through the air and hit the creature's left arm.

Dezi yelled, throwing a second rock. The behemoth changed targets again, turning towards Dezi. Fin immediately jumped up and climbed on its back. He gripped the elemental's core fiercely as it hurled a rock at Dezi.

Brando stole the creature's aggression with a wild strike, landing a blow to its arm and breaking several rocks free.

Fin held on for dear life as the monster wound up and swung at Brando. It missed its target but carried through with its swing, hitting the side of the cavernous wall with a thundering noise.

Fin's legs swung out and around, but his hands held fast. When the spin came to an abrupt stop, he kept swinging with increasing momentum. The motion twisted off the core, sending him flying. He landed against the wall and dropped to the ground with a bounce.

Stalactites broke free and fell to pieces on the ground, followed by the crumbling pieces of the elemental's body. The elemental body joined the scattered rocks and cave formations on the ground extinguishing all but one torch.

"Fin, are you alright?" Brando asked, dashing over to him. He set down a dim torch next to Fin and checked for injuries.

"I need a few moments," Fin said in a pained voice. He stowed the core still gripped in his hands and took out a torch. "I think I broke something. If I die, don't get lost here."

"You're not going to die," Brando said, lighting a new torch.

"Just use your healing-"

"We have another one!" Dezi cut him off as another Elemental entered their domain.

Fin channeled Violent Healing. As he waited for the ability to come to life, he looked for a weak spot in the approaching enemy. "Right knee!" He called.

Dezi caught the elemental's attention by throwing rocks at it.

Brandon steeled his nerves and moved into action. He ran forward and slid under thick, pillar-like legs. He slid to a stop, landing in the perfect position to get stepped on. He rolled away, got to his feet, and swung where Fin had told him to. Small chips of rock came free, stunning his grip. He swung over and over again, hacking at rocks and dulling his blade.

The monster took slow but constant steps, turning towards Brando.

When Dezi's rocks failed to regain its attention, she decided to go with a version of their original plan. She darted for the birdcage and opened it. "Are you looking for this?" she said, lifting out the rock.

The elemental kept turning and swiping long pendulous swings toward Brando, so Dezi lifted and smashed the core on the ground as hard as she could. She picked it up again and again, smashing the rock repeatedly. Finally, it multiplied into a dozen pieces as it broke on the ground. She looked up to find the elemental had stopped turning. It regarded her stoically and prepared its next attack.

"Run!" Brando shouted and drove his sword on the Elemental's knee over and over again. Dezi ran and dove. The ground erupted where she had been standing, spraying wicked shards of stone all around.

Brando jumped forward and swung with all of his might. The sword hit the monster's knee with a clang, spreading a web of cracks throughout the pinnacle stone.

The elemental took several uneasy steps, placing too much weight on its bad knee, blowing it out. It fell down and broke into pieces spreading out on the floor like the others.

Brando ran over to Fin. "How's it going?"

"Not good," Fin coughed. "I can't find vegetation anywhere. I also tried these cores; they're no good."

"What kind of vegetation do you need?" Dezi asked, beginning to accept that Fin had unorthodox needs. "I saw some tree roots back there about a hundred paces or so."

"Perfect. Take me there." Fin ended his ability and stood up on shaky feet. After several uneasy steps, Brando wrapped his arm around him for support and followed Dezi back through the cave.

Fin gripped the thick, white roots growing from the damp, gray walls. Healing energy flowed through him, knitting broken bones and calming angry wounds. He could tell that his body was badly damaged under his dirt-brown tunic. His body would heal, but his tunic was a lost cause. At least it wasn't as bad as Dezi's dress.

What was once the stark white symbol of purity was now the macabre representation of ruin. Dezi's dress was an intricate combination of dirt, blood, and viscera; every part of it was corrupted by the mine. She didn't seem to notice, or rather, she forced herself not to. Her introspective eyes remained parallel to the ground as she never lowered her chin.

"Guys, I have an apology to make," Dezi said, licking her lips and then spitting out dirt. "A real one. I was selfish, and I almost got us all killed because of it. Instead of taking 'no' for an answer, I kept forcing my will upon you. I thought that, eventually, you would see things my way and stop caring. It's selfish, I know. It's not much, but if you want to turn around now, I will find my own way from now on. This mine be damned."

"I think I want to finish it out," Fin finally said. "Besides, there are a few abilities I still haven't tried yet. Brando, if you want, we can meet back up at the inn."

Brando shrugged and checked his sword for any places that weren't blunted by rocks. "I suppose I have a few sharp spots left on my sword that need dulling."

"Do we have enough torches?" Dezi asked.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Fin asked. "I thought you said you were going to find your own way."

"I said that if you wanted to leave, I would find my own way," Dezi explained. "As it stands, we are all going to the same place. Besides, I paid for those torches."

"If we run out of torches, we can always use your dress," Brando replied, moving his eyes upwards to meet hers. "It needs to be burned anyways."

"I can't believe you said it!" Fin yelled and then burst out laughing. "I was thinking it, but I wasn't going to say anything."

The two laughed together, making references to bards and blind fortune tellers. Whatever tension was haunting the princess in the blackness of the cave did not evaporate with the laughter at her expense. She gave a terse smile, a sneer, and then some unbreakable oaths for violence if they didn't stop making fun of her dress. After all, there had been enough human deaths for one day.